Archive for the ‘lenses’ category

Writing my first article about the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 Art lens was mostly motivated by the fact that the AF inconsistency was sooo frustrating. Then only one week later I dropped the camera (a first for me in 10 years of owning a DSLR) with the Sigma attached, damaging the rear barrel and destroying the main PCB. But hey, I already knew where to send it so some weeks and about 200€ later I got it back like new just before leaving for two weeks vacation in Sri Lanka.

Of course there was no time to check focus again or even take test shots so this journey was the real test to see if the lens can hold up to my expectations.

After going through over 800 pictures the situation is more or less unchanged

AF misses maybe 10-15% of all shots

when AF is off it is almost always completely off – more or less to either end of the focus scale

I found no pattern in the AF glitches, they seem to be more or less random

refocusing one or two times gets the AF to work correctly most of the time

Sharpness, contrast and color is absolutely amazing when focus is correct

All in all the lens was way more convenient to use for everyday shooting than I thought. Yes, the range may be a bit limited compared to a 17-50mm f/2.8 and it is far bigger and heavier. However the creative potential and amazing image quality at all apertures makes the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 Art a joy to use for me.

After a long time of thinking about it I bought the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 APO EX DC OS HSM last week. This is a short review of my experience with it. To make it short: It is one hell of a lens!

Let’s start with the formals. The Sigma 50-150 OS comes with a bag and strap, a tripod collar and a quite large lens hood. The lens weighs 1270 g (without tripod collar, according to the kitchen scales) which is just about 200 g less than it’s full format 70-200 mm f/2.8 siblings from Canon and Sigma.
For an APS-C lens that is quite a lot. However I find it very nice to handhold attached to the 7D with battery grip.

The optical stabilizer works extremely well, much better than the IS of the Canon 300mm/2.8 IS mkI. What can be irritating is the very obvious knocking noise it makes when it turns on or off that is shared with the Canon.

The AF is by far not the fastest I have seen. It is silent, precise and fairly fast but by far not as quick as the Canon 300/2.8 or 85/1.8. It is sufficient for real-world use I would say.

The most outstanding feature about the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 OS is definitively it’s optical performance. The sharpness across the frame is simply stunning at all focal lengths and probably leaves lot of prime lenses behind. There is no need to stop down for additional sharpness. CA, LoCA, distortion are all nothing to worry about. But see for yourself… all files are converted from RAW, brightness adjusted, no additional sharpening

100% crop:

7D – ISO200 – 1/160 s – f/2.8 – 150 mm (click for 100% view)

7D – ISO200 – 1/1000 s – f/2.8 – 150 mm

A showcase for the OS system – shot without support

7D – ISO1600 – 1/8 s – f/2.8 – 82 mm

The lens is compatible with both Sigma and Canon teleconverters. I have the Sigma 1.4x APO and Canon 2x II converters and only did a few test shots. As far as I can report the Canon 2x does give even better results compared to the Sigma 1.4.

A 100% crop with the lens wide open (click on the picture).

7D – ISO200 – 1/800 s – f/5.6 – 300 mm

Cropped but not 100%

7D – ISO400 – 1/1600 s – f/5.6 – 300 mm

So, should you also get this lens? Well, if you tend to walk around with a bunch of primes in the 50-150mm range and can get along with a f/2.8 lens then this is the ultimate tool for you. Sports, theater, concerts, travel, weddings, portraits – that is where this lens will shine on your APS-C camera. For me it is definitively a keeper. Stand by for more pictures or comment if you need any additional info.